Monday, September 22, 2008

Several mainstream news outlets have misstated and overstated a possible link between cellular phone use and decreased fertility in men. A single experiment, which has not yet been published in any peer reviewed journal or replicated by other scientists, observed an average decrease in sperm motility and an increase in free radicals among laboratory sperm samples that were exposed to radiation similar to the radiation produced by cellular phone use.

Dr. Ashok Agarwal of the Cleveland Clinic estimates the overall health impact of cellular phones as “very safe” and reassured a Cable News Network reporter that the research was too premature to advise lifestyle changes for the public. “Our study has not provided proof that you should stop putting cell phones in your pocket. There are many things that need to be proven before we get to that stage.” He noted that his own cell phone was in his trouser pocket while he was giving the interview. Dr. Agarwal is the lead researcher for the study and Director of the Center for Reproductive Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

Cell phone industry spokesman Joe Farren agreed with Dr. Agarwal’s assessment about the devices’ overall safety: “The weight of the published scientific evidence, in addition to the opinion of global health organizations, shows that there is no link between wireless usage and adverse health effects.”

The controlled experiment used sperm samples from thirty-two donors: twenty-three healthy men and nine men who had fertility problems. Sperm were then exposed to radiation for one hour at 850 megahertz, the most common frequency for cell phones in the United States. Dr. Agarwal’s study raises a possible concern that cell phones kept on belts or trouser pockets and used in conjunction with wireless bluetooth earpieces “could cause harmful effects due to the proximity of the phones and the exposure that they are causing to the gonads.” He also noted that follow-up research is needed to determine whether the body’s skin and other tissue affords protection from the potential damage.

Several news sources ran misleading reports that overstated the risk.

The Los Angeles Times asserted a fallacious causal relationship that Dr. Agarwhal had not drawn and ignored his opinions that cellular phones are safe and no change in phone use is necessary. Instead, the piece opened by ordering men to stop keeping cell phones in their pockets:

“Attention male cellphone users of reproductive age: Take that phone out of your pocket. Information published today suggests that the radio-frequency energy released by cellphones decreases sperm quality in men.”

Ciol News ran a similar account:

“Beware men! Do you have the habit of keeping your mobile phone in the pockets of your trousers while talking on hand-free? Or do clip the mobile to your belt while talking? If so you are doing that at the cost of your fertility, warns a recent study.”

Mobile Magazine went a step further, also alluding to previous media exaggerations about cellular phone dangers:

“Oh no! It seems that mobile phones are getting even more problematic than ever. After getting linked to everything from migraines to cancer, it seems that the radiation from cell phones is now being connected to stupid sperm. Yes, I’m talking about the little swimmers that lead into a conversation about the birds and the bees.”

Mobile Magazine also ended in a misleading manner with “I wonder if it’s healthier to put your phone in your shirt pocket instead,” failing to mention that Dr. Agarwal had addressed that concern and had called it an unnecessary precaution.

Not all news sources overplayed the findings. CNN and United Press International ran balanced reports that did not suggest dangers or precautions beyond the lead researcher’s conclusions.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Nick Hogan, 17, the son of wrestling star Hulk Hogan has been “seriously injured” in a vehicle accident along with one other unnamed individual. Both are reported to have been flown via helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

TMZ.com reports that police and witnesses say the accident occurred in Clearwater, Florida around 7:30 p.m. (eastern time) on Sunday night while Hogan was driving his Toyota Supra at a “very high rate of speed.” He lost control of his car and hit the center median, flipping which then slammed into a palm tree, resting on its back end.

The police said the two travelling in the car sustained “very very serious” injuries. They also said that the tree “destroyed the entire car”.

A police officer was not far behind the car when it flipped over and radioed in for help. Firefighters had to use the ‘jaws of life’ to cut Hogan and the other individual free from the wreckage.

No call was made to 911 and the occupants conditions are not yet known.

Thursday, May 10, 2018

On Monday, the Indian Supreme Court transferred the trial of the gang rape and murder of Kashmiri girl Asifa Bano to Punjab’s Pathankot district. The Supreme Court asserted it was to ensure a fair and just result for the victim and the accused. “We are here for the fundamental concept of fair trial for both victims and the accused”, the court said.

Asifa Bano was an eight-year-old Muslim nomadic girl of the Bakarwal tribe who was reported missing on January 10. According to the police investigation, she was kidnapped, sedated, held captive, and gang raped before she was strangled and killed. Her corpse was found in Kathua a week after her disappearance. All eight accused for Bano’s rape and death are Hindus, of which two are police officials.

Bano’s father approached the Supreme Court requesting the case be shifted to a different court, suggesting Chandigarh. Some of the accused asked the case be heard in Jammu and Kashmir. Bano’s family and their lawyer, Deepika Singh Rajawat, had received death threats and personal threats. The Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, ordered continuing security for the victim’s family as well as the lawyer. They also ordered continuing security for the juvenile accused for Bano’s rape and death.

Stating fair trial is a “sacrosanct principle under Article 21” of the Indian constitution, which corresponds to the fundamental right to life, the Supreme Court said, “We are transferring the case to Pathankot from Kathua for trial […] the case will be heard daily so that the verdict can be reached in a country where such cases can run for years or decades”. Pathankot is a district in Punjab, and it is about 30 kilometres (about 20 miles) from Kathua. The Supreme Court also ordered the hearing sessions cannot be adjourned and in-camera to ensure the safety of witnesses. There are about 221 witnesses for this case. Statements in Urdu are to be translated in English. The Supreme Court instructed Pathankot’s district judge not to transfer the case to any other court.

Three of the accused, Sanjhi Ram, Vishal Jangotra, and Parvesh Kumar asked for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Dismissing the plea, the Supreme Court said, “When charge sheet is filed, why should we want another agency?”

Per the charge sheet filed by Jammu and Kashmir police on April 9, Asifa Bano was raped at a place of worship.

Last month, after protests against the rape and murder of Asifa Bano in various cities across the nation, Indian cabinet ministers passed an ordinance allowing the death sentence for those convicted of raping a girl under the age of twelve. However, per Article 20 (1) of the Indian Constitution, the ordinance is not applicable in this case. Article 20 (1) states, “No person shall be convicted of any offence except for violation of a law in force at the time of the commission of the act charged as an offence, nor be subjected to a penalty greater than that which might have been inflicted under the law in force at the time of the commission of the offence.”

The trial is to be conducted in accordance with the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). Due to special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir mentioned in Article 370 of the constitution, the Ranbir Penal Code is applicable for Jammu and Kashmir; since the case falls in the jurisdiction of that state. The RPC, which is different from the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has been in effect since before Indian independence from [[Great Britain}]], when Ranbir Singh of the Dogra dynasty was the king of the then-independent state. Deepika Singh Rajawat, the lawyer who took Asifa Bano’s case said, “There is not much difference between IPC and RPC, especially for rape and murder. Even though the order of sections are different, that would not affect the hearing of the Kathua case.”

The next hearing is scheduled for July 9.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Prominent Thai civil rights lawyer, Somchai Neelapaichit, is now presumed dead, according to an admission by the country’s Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Somchai rose to prominence as a lawyer defending Muslim people accused of involvement in the troubles in the predominantly Muslim provinces of southern Thailand. According to the information provided by the PM, evidence has been provided to the Department of Special Investigations that leads them to believe the lawyer is now dead. This is not considered news by the journalist’s family, according to his wife the country’s Prime Minister admitted to her last year that her husband was dead, and gave assurances that action would be taken against those responsible.

Thailand’s DSI became involved with the disappearance of Somchai in July 2005 when allegations were made that police were involved with the lawyer vanishing. His involvement in cases related to the southern insurgency was suspected to have been behind his disappearance. Somchai had lodged appeals with the Bangkok Criminal Court on behalf of five suspects accused of being involved in a raid on a Narathiwat armoury where weapons were seized and soldiers killed, alleging that they had not been given fair treatment during their prosecution.

The admission follows on from the conviction of Police Major, Nguen Thongsuk, who was prosecuted for illegally detaining the lawyer in 2004. Following that he was last seen in public in March 2004. In the case against the police four other officers were acquitted.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Australian researchers say they have scientifically proven that stress causes sickness. The Garvan Institute in Sydney has discovered that a hormone, known as neuropeptide Y (NPY) is released into the body during times of stress. Their findings show the hormone can stop the immune system from functioning properly.

“Neuropeptide Y is one of those hormones that gets unregulated or released from neurones when stressful situations occur…it’s known for example that it regulates blood pressure and heart rates so your heart rate goes up but it hasn’t been known that it actually can affect immune cells as well,” said Professor Herbert Herzog, one of the researchers.

Herzog feels it is good to finally have proof of something people have suspected for so long.

“Now we have proven without doubt that there is a direct link and that stress can weaken the immune system and that makes you more vulnerable when you for example have a cold or flu and even in the more serious situations such as cancer can be enhanced in these situations,” said Herzog.

The Garvan Institute study centres on two key events that enable the human body to recognise foreign substances and control invaders. When our body encounters a pathogen (bacteria and viruses), the immune cells retain and interrogate suspects. Their activation is made possible by NPY. These cells then return to the lymph nodes, which are found all over the body, with information about the foreign invaders. The lymph nodes are where decisions about defence are made.

“Most of us expect to come down with a cold or other illness when we are under pressure, but until now we have mostly had circumstantial evidence for a link between the brain and the immune system,” said lead Garvan researcher, associate Professor Fabienne Mackay. “During periods of stress, nerves release a lot of NPY and it gets into the bloodstream, where it directly impacts on the cells in the immune system that look out for and destroy pathogens (bacteria and viruses) in the body.”

In the case of bacteria and viruses, TH1 cells are part of the attack team that is sent out on the ‘search and destroy’ mission. But when their job is done they need to be turned ‘off’ and the immune system reset. The same hormone, NPY, that activates the sentry cells now prompts the TH1 cells to slow down and die.

“Under normal conditions, circulating immune cells produce small amounts of NPY, which enables the immune cells on sentry duty and the TH1 immune cells to operate – it’s a yin and yang kind of situation. But too much NPY means that the TH1 attack is prevented despite the foreign invaders being identified – and this is what happens during stress,” added McKay.

The impact of stress on the body has been observed in athletes. Ph. D researcher at the University of Queensland, Luke Spence, together with the Australian Institute of Sport, studied elite and recreational athletes over five months.

They found elite athletes were more susceptible to respiratory diseases under stress.

“A lot of elite athletes put themselves through vast amounts of physical stress in their training, but also their emotional, psychological stress of feeling the pressure of Australia on their shoulders, wanting to compete and wanting to do their best,” said Spence.

It’s not just athletes who are prone to stress. Pressures at work and at home may cause emotional and mental stress that can be equally damaging. Almost a third of all work absenteeism in Australia is due to illness, costing employers over $10 billion a year.

“I think it has a huge impact for the work force and also for employers – if their employees are constantly stressed, constantly under pressure, they are more likely to get sick,” Spence said.

Further research could lead to the development of new drugs which may inhibit the action of the neuropeptide Y hormone.

Herzog warns people to minimise stress before it becomes a problem.

“Relaxation methods like yoga will help you to prevent that but there will still be people out there that are not responding to that and treatment by interfering with the system will be important,” he said. “There’s obviously some time until such a treatment will be available but this is something we will definitely work towards.”

The Garvan research will be published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 202, No. 11.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

An NBC employee won US$266 million from the California Lottery’s Mega Millions drawing.

The winner, wishing to remain anonymous, will receive $165 million in total, after federal taxes, reports spokesperson for the lottery Cathy Doyle Johnston.

David Reese, a KNBC assistant manager, was informed by the winner around 2:30 local time Wednesday. Reese told the employees working the night shift to keep the name a secret until the winner wishes to step forward.

Reese said the winner worked for NBC as a freelancer for four years, and her husband was laid off two weeks ago.

L & L Hawaiian BBQ in Pico Rivera, California, sold the winning ticket with the numbers 9, 21, 31, 36, 43, and the “Mega Number” 8. Danny He, the owner of the BBQ, will receive $1 million from the lottery for selling the winning ticket.

According to lottery officials, there was a 1 in 175,711,536 chance in winning with all six numbers with 38 other states and the District of Colombia playing as well.